Mr. President,

We thank the High Commissioner for his oral update that continues to shed light on Russia’s systematic human rights violations documented by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.

Ukraine is under constant fire. With each subsequent massive strikes, Russia’s air assaults become heavier, bringing death and destruction. No night without attack. No city without damage. No community without casualties. This is not warfare but a deliberate terror.

And this terror does not stop at Ukraine’s borders. In recent weeks, Russian drones have violated the territory of many other peaceful nations. This is a reckless challenge to regional security and international order. Russia knows this. And still, it chooses escalation.

High Commissioner,

We appreciate your Office’s commitment to address unprecedented gross and systematic human rights violations and war crimes committed by Russia against the Ukrainian people and highly value the continued attention to the fate of ourcivilians on the occupied territories and in Russian captivity.

The latest report of the Monitoring Mission sheds even more light on the cruelty Russia inflicts on them. The findings are stark - arbitrary arrests, torture, cruel and inhuman treatment, including sexual violence, are widespread. Civilians are held in basements, garages, or deported to Russia, cut off from their families and the protection of law. Journalists, teachers, veterans, volunteers, public servants - no one is safe.

In the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, entire cities and villages have been turned into open-air prisons. Streets that once echoed with children’s laugh and community life are now patrolled by Russian soldiers and overshadowed by fear. People live under constant surveillance, surrounded by checkpoints.

Every movement, every word, every attempt to remain Ukrainian is punished. Schools are stripped of Ukrainian books, churches are desecrated, public squares are renamed, and flags are torn down.

Russia attempts to erase the identity of our people. 

Occupied territories, once full of life and the voices of free people, are now silenced by force. But let me remind: no territorial acquisition resulting from the threat or use of force shall ever be recognized as legal. Russia may attempt to cage our people, but it cannot extinguish their spirit. And we must not lose sight of these occupied lands - their suffering, their resistance, and their hope.

Distinguished delegates,

The Monitoring Mission confirms what we already know: these abuses are not random brutality, they are systematic. They are carried out by Russian state structures - the army, the security services, the prison system, the police. In occupied territories Russia openly breaching the Fourth Geneva Convention and denying access to UN monitors. It hides its crimes, but it cannot hide the truth. These are war crimes. These are crimes against humanity.

This Monday Putin signed a law denouncing the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture.

Although this decision is merely a formalization of what was already happening in practice, for prisoners and their families this news has a strong symbolic meaning - a feeling of even greater isolation and defenselessness in the face of the repressive mechanisms of the occupiers.

Dear colleagues,

The lessons of history are clear. When an aggressor faces no consequences, aggression spreads. Russia already exports instability beyond Ukraine. It already strikes European skies. If we do not stop it now, others will pay the price tomorrow.

We must not allow these violations to continue with impunity, justice must come. Every perpetrator, from the soldier who tortured to the officials who ordered it, must face accountability. The highest political and military leaders of Russia must know: their crimes will not be erased by time.

Human rights are universal. International law is binding. When Russia tramples these principles, it threatens not only Ukraine, but the foundation of the global shared values. Ukraine will continue to stand for dignity, for freedom, and for human rights. We call on all Member States to stand with us - firmly, clearly, and without compromise.

I thank you.